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A book every teen should read! Relatable characters, humour mixed with big issues, historical references. Loved it.

“It‘s not wonder the neighbors called us the weird Watsons behind our backs”

I‘d prefer the book over the movie

One of my all time favorite books. So good at teaching children about this time period and does so in a very kid friendly way. Definitely would recommend for middle childhood.

I don't think they're sick at all, I think they just let hate eat them up and turn them into monsters.

Byron getting his tongue stuck to the van is absolutely hilarious.

A powerful book about events that took place in the civil rights movement and the hate the African American community faced during this time. The story adds in laughs and fun moments, but the story shows the true nature of the hate and violence that was going on. Such a powerful book.

A story about a family that travels from flint to Birmingham, Alabama to visit their grandmother. When they arrive to Birmingham they are faced with the reality of the civil rights movement in 1963.

Back to work this week and my final year of my masters starts next week. 😥 I love teaching, but not much beats summer break with plenty of reading time.

#teachersoflitsy

Perfect balance of laughter and tears, superb.

On today‘s episode of my podcast, Renée Hicks of the Book Girl Magic community makes her second appearance, this time for a conversation about The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. We discuss the way this award-winning book portrays race, family, bullying, class, and so much more. ? Link to listen in my bio!

Should be in every class library.

I am currently reading I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. I will tag when I am finished. I think this would fit the prompt perfectly for outside the US.

#IntegrateYourShelf @ChasingOm @Emilymdxn

1. I have so many, but I'm going to choose Watsons Go to Birmingham.

2. Yes Louise Erdrich's The Round House (adult - 5 stars) and The Birchbark House (children - 4 stars) come to mind.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView Beautiful graphic.

@Mogoeg @Lynnsoprano do you want to play?

Classic story of a family heading to Birmingham to visit Grandma with unexpected consequences

#vacation
#boundtogetherjune
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

#7days7books Day 2

7 books that have left a deep impression and changed me.

This novel takes place in 1963, AKA a turning point in American history. The civil rights movement was sweeping the nation, especially in the south. This book follows The Watson‘s on their road trip to the south to visit their grandmother. The family encounters exactly what you might expect, but what the lesson they leave with is more powerful. #UCFLAE3414SP20

This Newberry HF novel is a must-read! The author does such a wonderful job capturing African-American life in the 60s. It feels like a roller coaster, but reading this is worth it, IR. One UDL & El strategy is highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships (3.2) & 42. have students use timelines to arrange and sequence important facts and information. Extension activities: https://nobodybutcurtis.com/resources #UCFLAE3414SP20

It was the summer of 1963, when the Watsons took a road trip from Michigan to visit Grandma Sands in Alabama. But Birmingham, Alabama was very different from where they came..and the bombing incident of the 16th Street Baptist church that summer offered them a glimpse of the difficult race relations during the Civil Rights era. A very good read, it‘s also about the coming-of-age of the two Watson brothers. My final book read for #MiddleGradeMarch.

“I don't think i'll ever know what to do when I'm grown up.“

This is a good book to read to your classroom over time as in a couple of chapters a day. It greatly shows what life was like for African Americans back in the 1960s which is great to discuss with your class when talking about Civil Rights and Slavery.

This historical fiction book is about a black family living during the civil rights time period. They live in Michigan but travel to Alabama to visit their grandmother. It is a great book showing what life looks like for an African-American family in the 1960's. The narrator is telling stories that relate to the present. This story accurately shows what life was like for them back then. It's blended well with fiction and nonfiction to tell a story

This book made me laugh & cry. The Watson family is fictional, w/ the characters based on the author's family. 2 passages struck me hard, the one above from the epilogue, & while encouraging his little brother after the bombing in Birmingham to "keep on stepping", Byron explains that although the world is not perfect, he has to keep moving on. The effect of the bombing on Kenny I know I've felt w/ what's going on in the world. #bfcr2 #justbookit

As I'm reading this, it struck me that a lot of socially motivated books were sold as children's books. Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Oliver Twist, Little Women. What are some of your favorites that have more meaning as an adult?

“There's one good thing about getting in trouble: It seems like you do it in steps. It seems like you don't just end up in trouble but that you kind of ease yourself into it. It also seems like the worse the trouble is that you get into, the more steps it takes to get there. Sort of like you're getting a bunch of little warnings on the way; sort of like if you really wanted to you could turn around.”

Historical fiction. This is a wonderful book for older children and definitely a book I‘d like to finish as it is considered such a classic.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham— 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, 1995. This is a wonderful and loving storing about an African American family living in 1963. The story is funny and yet moving all at the same time.

I listened to the audiobook and it was well worth the library hold wait. Levar Burton can do NO wrong! And it's an extra bonus whenever he reads an amazing story. In it, you learn about the black migration from the south to the north as well as some historical events in the American Civil Rights movement. An informative and fun read.

Newbery award winner, The Watsons Go to Birmingham (HF) is great for (LC) upper elementary students or early middle school students. The novel tells the story of an African American family who visits their grandma in Birmingham, Alabama. Follow along with this story, but be prepared to grab some tissues! #LAE3414SP19

1 Toussaint Louverture, Harriet Tubman (- I've always been awed by her courage and strength), Phyllis Wheatley
2. I'm a 5th grade teacher - Christopher Paul Curtis, Jacqueline Woodson, Mildred Taylor ♥️♥️
3. Birmingham church bombing - makes me sob. I do not ever want to forget about those 4 little girls.
4. Historical fiction and ya
5. Buffalo Soldiers I've not seen a book. #BLITSYHISTORYMONTH @Chelleo

“Poor kids growing up in Alabama” is the theme of the books on the nightstand of this upper-middle-class grown woman in Alabama.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 written by Christopher Paul Curtis is a wonderful HF that has won the Coretta Scott King award. This novel would make a great RA as it is about a family, older brother Bryon, middle child Kenny, younger sister Joetta, and their parents who lives in Flint, Michigan in 1963. The story is told through Kenny who is nine years old.

#bookwithpoccharacters #julyinbooks18 @bookisglee
Loved this novel

Love this when I read it as a class novel💗💗💗

The moment you reconsider letting your three-year-old listen during read-aloud time:

Out for ice cream with the visiting grandparents last night. Grandma says something that doesn‘t sit well with the little one, who is happily coloring. Little one leans down the table towards Grandma and quietly says, “I‘m gonna jack you up, Grandma,” and calmly returns to coloring while the rest of us laugh until we cry. #raisingreaders

Started this as our read aloud today. The kids absolutely loved Bud, Not Buddy (their favorite read aloud last year), and so far, the Watsons have not disappointed. The middle kid declared about the first chapter—“That was the funniest chapter out of any chapter book we‘ve ever read!” I have to agree...it‘s quite an opening! #homeschool #raisingreaders

Love this one so much! #middlegrade #readsoullit

I think this historical fiction is a great book for the classroom because if goes over how things were in a different generation where discrimination occurs. You are able to feel and see everything that goes on through Kenny‘s life.
https://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/watsons-go-to-birmingham-1963-lesso... #ucfwalterslit

#family #jubilantjuly

This was my family's 3rd Christopher Paul Curtis book, and we have loved every single one. He writes about such tough subjects, but with such humor!! And the family love shines in every book. Highly recommend, we will read everything he writes.

It's always so nice to revisit an author whose work you enjoy. I haven't read any of Curtis's books in years, so I was excited to see this #audiobook read by LeVar Burton on #OverDrive. Curtis's writing navigates between lighthearted and powerful, humorous and heart-wrenching so well. He's mastered the art of writing children's #historicalfiction in a way that so many other authors only dream of. #diversebooks #blackbooks #childrensbooks

Day 104: "Sometimes you have to keep on steppin'."

Litsy has John Lewis's back today, so I wanted to share something different. I read so much historical fiction as a kid that I think some things got romanticized for me. But this one stuck out as heartbreaking. It may have been my first real introduction to what was happening in our country twenty short years before I was born. I remember asking my mom so many questions about it. #InspiredByMLK #ReadJanuary

Now, on to this little gem. I hear it's a really good story. Sad at times. Funny at times. The perfect balance of emotions.

Because some stories need to be told. This was such a well done story. I love that all of the nuances of that time were so subtle. The narrator was hilarious and the family was easy to relate to. The events in this book aren't easy to talk about with children but the author manages with ease.